Chief Justice of Sindh High Court, Sajjad Ali Shah’s son Owais Shah was rescued by security forces from custody of terrorists during an operation near Tank on early Tuesday morning, Dunya News reported. Sajjad Ali Shah, while talking to the media said that Chief of Army Staff, General Raheel Sharif telephoned him at around 3:00 am and said that the team has recovered his son and that he was personally monitoring the operation. He then asked the Army Chief to have Owais talk to him on phone if possible and General Sharif was kind enough to make that happen after around an hour, Sajjad Ali Shah added. He stated that General Sharif had called him the day Owais was abducted and had vowed to monitor the case and ISPR DG kept in contact with him since then. General Raheel Sharif personally monitored the team that was put together by Lt General Rizwan Akhtar, Director General of Inter-Service Intelligence. An aircraft was arranged and Owais was shifted to Karachi from Tank before moving him to his residence in Rangers Sindh Director General Major General Bilal Akbar’s official vehicle, the Chief Justice of Sindh High Court said.
While answering a question about what he has been told about the kidnappers, he said that he was not told anything about the terrorists not even which outfit they belonged to. Army is a ‘part’ of the federal government and an achievement of the army is government’s achievement, he said. Owais was completely fine and the family could not thank Allah Almighty enough for how He blessed them once again. Owais came out of the house along with his father but did not talk to the journalists. According to DG ISPR Lieutenant General Asim Saleem Bajwa, Shah was recovered in an intelligence-based operation from custody of terrorists from near Tank in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. At least three terrorists were killed during the operation. According to DG ISPR, Army Chief General Raheel Sharif has commended efforts of intelligence agencies and security forces for successful operation. The development has come in a day after lawyers of Karachi and Malir bar councils called a three-day strike and boycotted judicial proceedings against Owais’s abduction. Sources report that kidnappers were driving a blue vehicle and encountered an ambush at a chowk on road that leads to Tank from Dera Ismail Khan. The plan, as revealed by sources was to move Owais to North Waziristan and to Afghanistan from there. Owais Shah was abducted from Clifton area in Karachi on June 20 by unidentified miscreants after he exited a superstore. He had returned from London few months ago after completing his law degree.
PM congratulates
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has expressed satisfaction and relief over the recovery. He has congratulated the SHC Chief Justice among members of the victimised family. Chief Justice of Lahore High Court has extended well wishes for the future of the recovered youth and felicitated his colleague. Sindh Ispector General of Police, A D Khawaja paid an early morning visit to Chief Justice, Sajjad Ali Shah’s residence on 7th Gizri Lane in Karachi and personally congratulated the family. Justice Faisal Arab of Supreme Court also visited Sajjad Ali’s Shah at his house. Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad has welcomed the fact that Shah was recovered before terrorists moved him to Afghanistan which is where every high-profile victim is taken to.
High-profile kidnappings
High-profile kidnappings have been exectued by terrorists in the country earlier as well. Former governor of Punjab, late Salman Taseer’s son, Shahbaz Taseer and son of former prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani were recovered from Afghanistan. Ali Gilani was kept in Faisalabad for two months and then shifted to tribal areas of the country like that banned Uzbek movement operatives did with Shahbaz Taseer. Both the abducted persons were shifted to tribal areas and then to Afghanistan. Taseer managed to escape the captivity after over four and a half years and was rescued by forces after he contacted his family whereas Gilani was recovered in a joint United States-Afghanistan forces operation in the neighbouring country. Operatives belonging to different banned outfits demand heavy sum of money from the government after any high-profile person is kidnapped however, no negotiations were made in any of the aforementioned cases.